OUR STORY
"You may have watched the video on the front page, where I, Shop's founder, Mimmi Paatero (formerly Pekurinen), talked about the company's background.
I lived in Africa from 2014 to 2018 doing missionary work and currently lead the Blooming Desert Africa organization, founded in 2020, which helps former child soldiers in Uganda, East Africa. In the spring of 2021, I started making polymer clay earrings with the idea that if I could sell a few of them and raise money for the organization.
The whole thing grew quickly and an ethical and responsible brand was born: Blooming Desert Shop , which still donates 35% of its profits to the aforementioned organization.
The picture below shows Mimmi with a few boys from the Blooming Desert Africa organization in Uganda in the fall of 2023.
What is the Shop like?
If I had to describe Shop in one word, it would be COLORFUL. Not only because our jewelry and other products are often full of different colors, but because colorful, to me, reflects playfulness and joy of life.
This one life we have is a gift - and we want to cherish and rejoice in it with Shop! And we are all been uniquely made so let's show it!
Special thanks to Rihheemi Photography for the photo.
As a team:
The vision from the beginning was that I wouldn't be the only one, but that many artists would join in with a common goal: to do good.
You can find the team members below - it's a pleasure to note that you don't have to run this company alone either, but together we can bring cheer to you; every day!
Product manufacturing and values:
The products are made domestically in Finland.
In all our operations, responsibility is one of our core values, along with transparency and accessibility .
Responsibility is such a fundamental issue in our company that it even has its own page, where you can read about our actions in different areas of responsibility!"
The team includes:
- Mimmi Paatero, entrepreneur, earrings, hairpins, clothing design; Espoo
- Ella Heiskanen, marketing assistant (volunteer), earrings, hair donuts; Tampere
-Peace Kisakye, hair turbans, Entebbe, Uganda
